Sri Lankan born Prof. Mohan Munasinghe shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, as Vice Chair of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has postgraduate degrees in physics, engineering and economics, from Cambridge University (UK), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), McGill University (Canada), and Concordia University (Canada); as well as several honorary doctorates (honoris causa).

Presently, he is Chairman, Munasinghe Institute of Development (MIND); Director-General, Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI), University of Manchester, UK; and Honorary Senior Advisor to the Govt. of Sri Lanka. Highlights of over 35 years of distinguished public service include working as the Senior Energy Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka (1982-87), and Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (1990-92).

Until 2002, he served in the World Bank as a Senior Manager and Senior Advisor on Sustainable Development. He has won a number of international prizes and medals for his research, and authored over 90 books and three hundred technical papers on sustainable development, environment, information technology, energy, water resources, transport, and economics. He is a Fellow of many internationally recognized Academies of Science, and serves on the editorial boards of over a dozen international journals. He has lectured in major universities in Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, India, Japan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, UK and USA.

He believes every nation should develop a "national sustainable development strategy" that not only reduces carbon emissions, for example by reducing energy wastage or planting trees, but takes the environment into account when considering economic and social development, for example by ensuring housing for the poor is not damaging surrounding forest.

Like a true scientist, Prof Munasinghe has put his work before politics and been an advisor to every single government in Sri Lanka over the last 30 years, regardless of political hue. But unlike many scientists he is realistic about how the system works. Prof Munasinghe realises governments will not change because climate change is happening per se. They will only do something when they realise that the storm to come could affect their income and lifestyle.

So while this modest man dressed in a red tie and blazer was pleased with the "recognition, influence and credibility" winning the Nobel Peace Price has given the IPCC, he is not surprised at the lack of action.

"That is why we must show the link between climate change to problems we are suffering. If you show the link between development, poverty, war etc it is more effective than talking about climate change alone."

Prof Munasinghe believes that if developed countries can reduce their own impact on the environment while helping poorer countries to develop in a sustainable way the world can slow down global warming and cope with climate change when it comes.

Professor Mohan Munasinghe suggested, in the end it is not about the individuals who won the Nobel Peace Prize it is about the individuals who do something about it.